three mc's to the highest depth/level?

[WWFC]

hi all,

still wrestling wildly with as3 - i 'do' think it will be worth the migration - but at the moment am trying to get my head around even the simplest of tasks!


okay if i have three mc's on my stage named sprite1 sprite2 sprite3 and i want them to sit above the image wall created by this script how do i do it?

/*
Created by Min Thu
    http://www.flashmo.com
    
AS3 References and Credits
    http://blog.papervision3d.org/
    http://theflashblog.com/?p=306
    http://www.gotoandlearn.com/
    http://www.onerutter.com/
    http://labs.blitzagency.com/
    http://vilebody.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/3d-papervision-plane-events/
*/
import org.papervision3d.scenes.*;
import org.papervision3d.cameras.*;
import org.papervision3d.objects.*;
import org.papervision3d.materials.*;
import fl.transitions.Tween;
import fl.transitions.easing.*;
import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;


var container:Sprite = new Sprite();
container.x = 400;
container.y = 300;
addChild(container);

var scene:Scene3D = new MovieScene3D(container);
var cam:Camera3D = new Camera3D();
cam.zoom = 6;

tn_title.text = "";
tn_desc.text = "";
tn_url.text = "";

var p_dict:Dictionary=new Dictionary();
var pc:Plane = new Plane();
pc.visible = false;
cam.target = pc;

var numOfRotations:Number = 3;
var yPos:Number = 0;
var angle:Number = 0;

var filename_list = new Array();
var url_list = new Array();
var url_target_list:Array = new Array();
var title_list = new Array();
var description_list = new Array();
var folder:String = "thumbnails/";

var i:Number;
var j:Number = 0;
var k:Number = 0;
var l:Number = 0;
var m:Number = 0;
var total:Number;
var flashmo_xml:XML = new XML();
var loader:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
loader.load(new URLRequest("thumbnail_list_3.xml"));
loader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, create_thumbnail);

function create_thumbnail(e:Event):void 
{
    flashmo_xml = XML(e.target.data);
    total = flashmo_xml.thumbnail.length();
    var anglePer:Number = ((Math.PI*2) * numOfRotations) / total;
    
    for( i = 0; i < total; i++ )
    {
        url_list.push( flashmo_xml.thumbnail[i].@url.toString() );
        url_target_list.push( flashmo_xml.thumbnail[i].@target.toString() );
        title_list.push( flashmo_xml.thumbnail[i].@title.toString() );
        description_list.push( flashmo_xml.thumbnail[i].@description.toString() );
        
        var bfm:BitmapFileMaterial = new BitmapFileMaterial(
            folder + flashmo_xml.thumbnail[i].@filename.toString());
        bfm.oneSide = false;
        bfm.smooth = true;
        var p:Plane = new Plane(bfm, 140, 105, 2, 2);
        scene.addChild(p);
        var p_container:Sprite = p.container;
        p_container.name = "flashmo_" + i;
        p_dict[p_container] = p;
        p_container.buttonMode = true;
        p_container.addEventListener( MouseEvent.ROLL_OVER, p_rollover );
        p_container.addEventListener( MouseEvent.ROLL_OUT, p_rollout );
        p_container.addEventListener( MouseEvent.CLICK, p_click );
        
        p.rotationY = (-i*anglePer) * (180/Math.PI) + 90;
        p.x = Math.cos(i * anglePer) * 480;
        p.z = Math.sin(i * anglePer) * 480;
        p.y = yPos;

        if( (i+1) % 20 == 0 )
        {
             yPos += 115;
        }
    }
}

function p_rollover(me:MouseEvent) 
{
    var sp:Sprite = me.target as Sprite;
    var tw:Tween = new Tween(sp, 'alpha', Strong.easeOut, 1, 0.5, 0.6, true);
    var s_no:Number = parseInt(sp.name.slice(8,10));
    tn_title.text = title_list[s_no];
    tn_desc.text = description_list[s_no];
    tn_url.text = url_list[s_no];
}
function p_rollout(me:MouseEvent) 
{
    var sp:Sprite = me.target as Sprite;
    var tw:Tween = new Tween(sp, 'alpha', Strong.easeOut, 0.5, 1, 0.6, true);
    tn_title.text = "";
    tn_desc.text = "";
    tn_url.text = "";
}
function p_click(me:MouseEvent) 
{
    var sp:Sprite = me.target as Sprite;
    var s_no:Number = parseInt(sp.name.slice(8,10));
    navigateToURL(new URLRequest(url_list[s_no]), url_target_list[s_no]);
}

addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, render);

function render(e:Event):void
{
    var dist2:Number = ((stage.mouseX) - 400) * 0.0001;
    angle += dist2;
    cam.x = - Math.cos(angle) * 150;
    cam.z = Math.sin(angle) * 150;
    var new_zoom = 5; 
    cam.zoom += ( new_zoom - cam.zoom ) * 0.06;
    scene.renderCamera(cam);
} 

that script creates a scrolling image wall but the wall sits above the three mc's and not at a lower depth.

do i need to create each mc dynamically? something like

sprite1 = newsprite etc...

or can i just say that sprite 1,2,3 should appear at depth 10,11,12?

i also need the mc's to act as a navigation - so if sprite1 is clicked the swf timeline will go to frame2 - and if sprite2 is clicked goto frame3

how do i do these things in as3? i would be able to do it in as2 but i can't work it out for as3 - some much is different! - anyone shed some light for me? please?

[neznein9]

setChildIndex(sprite1, numChildren - 1);
setChildIndex(sprite2, numChildren - 1);
setChildIndex(sprite3, numChildren - 1); 

That will place your three sprites at the top of the z-ordering.

Setting up buttons would look like this:

sprite1.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goOne);
sprite2.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goTwo);
sprite3.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goThree);

function goOne(e:MouseEvent):void{
    gotoAndStop(1);
}

function goTwo(e:MouseEvent):void{
    gotoAndStop(2);
}

function goThree(e:MouseEvent):void{
    gotoAndStop(3);
} 

[WWFC]

...great stuff! thanks for the quick response - appreciate it

is there anywhere in particular i need to put those bits of code?
or can i just strip it in at the end of the existing script?

sorry for asking such a dumb question - but my head is spinning from all this newness!

[neznein9]

It needs to be in the same scope as your sprites - so I'm assuming they're on the main timeline so you could just put it into a frame there.

[WWFC]

...ahh - okay - separate from the code that i initially posted.

good stuff - thanks for the help.

i'll give it a go

[WWFC]

...well there you go!!!
it works a treat!

thanks for that - much easy when someone holds your hand.

**does a little dance**

[WWFC]

...now i have a slightly different question - on the three different frames that the buttons take me to - i want to create the same environment only i want it use a different .xml doc for the actual thumbnails and links.

so i tried replicating that code in my initial post that creates the carousel - and put it on each frame - which (of course) it didn't work!

i also tried to trim it down by getting rid of the imports at the start - but that didn't work either.

do i need to make these extra carousel/walls on the first frame or is it just a case of calling them

addChild(container); 

and then on frame2

addChild(container2); 

is that what i should do?

[WWFC]

...or do i just need to tell it to change the xml doc it is reading from?

...and if so - how do i do that?

[neznein9]

Frames are a little tricky in AS3 - they exist in the same code scope but they reset the display-list between them...so in your first frame you're creating a bunch of variables and objects (all that 3D stuff) and then in the second frame all of that history is still around and causing trouble when you try and make new stuff.

For your specific project, I'd recommend moving that third-party code into a MC on stage so it gets properly cleared between each frame and trying to get it working that way.